$273 Million New Jersey Mega Millions Ticket Was Nearly Lost

Friday March 8th 2019

TRENTON, NJ – The winner of the $273,000,000 Mega Millions jackpot in the March 1, 2019 drawing has told how he almost lost his winning ticket before the draw.

Michael J. Weirsky of Alpha, in Warren County, New Jersey, was the only winner of the jackpot, and recently came forward to claim his prize. He met the press and answered questions at New Jersey Lottery Headquarters.

Mr. Weirsky purchased his winning ticket at a QuickChek store near his home, where he often buys lottery tickets.

As well as the Mega Millions tickets, he also bought tickets for the New Jersey Pick-6 game. After the drawings, he checked the tickets on his phone. He didn’t win anything in Pick-6.

But when he checked Mega Millions, one of the lines on the Lottery app showed he had won the jackpot. His mother, who was standing near him, didn’t believe him when he told her he had won.

He sat thinking about the situation and decided he needed to visit a retailer immediately to confirm the win. Although a snowstorm was blowing outside, he was able to get to the nearest store to scan his ticket and see the good news in person. He had indeed won the jackpot!

Shockingly, Mr. Weirsky almost lost his tickets when he bought them, leaving them on the store counter. Thankfully, a stranger noticed the tickets on the counter and handed them to the clerk for safekeeping.

Meanwhile, Mr. Weirsky realized he did not have his tickets. He searched his home but couldn’t find them. He came back to the store the next day before the drawing and luckily, found his tickets waiting for him.

“Congratulations to Mr. Weirsky on his multi-million dollar jackpot prize,” said New Jersey Lottery Acting Executive Director James A. Carey, Jr. “In addition to Mr. Weirsky’s big win, retailers across New Jersey won big, too. We have more than 7,000 retailers across the state, and this Mega Millions run has generated more than $1.1 million in commissions and bonuses for those retailers.”

The $273 million jackpot has a cash lump sum option of $162 million.

The store that sold the winning ticket, QuickChek at 600 New Brunswick Avenue in Phillipsburg, NJ, received a $30,000 bonus payment.